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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Isolation and Activation of Murine Lymphocytes
Published on: October 30, 2016
Immunomagnetic isolation of NK and LAK cells
B Naume1, U Nonstad, B Steinkjer
1Institute of Cancer Research, University of Trondheim, Norway.
Insights
This study presents an easy immunomagnetic isolation method for human natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells. The technique yields highly pure, functionally active NK and LAK cells without expensive equipment.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Natural Killer (NK) and Lymphokine-Activated Killer (LAK) cells are crucial for immune responses.
- Efficient isolation of these cells is essential for research and therapeutic applications.
- Existing methods may lack purity, yield, or functional preservation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a novel immunomagnetic isolation technique for human NK and LAK cells.
- To evaluate the purity, yield, and functional activity of isolated cells.
- To establish a cost-effective and accessible method for obtaining effector cells.
Main Methods:
- Positive isolation of CD56+ cells using anti-CD56 coated Dynabeads M-450 from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
- Assessment of cell purity via contaminating cell counts.
- Functional characterization through cytotoxic assays against K562 (NK activity) and Daudi (LAK activity) cell lines.
- Further enrichment by T-cell depletion using anti-CD3 coated Dynabeads M-450.
Main Results:
- Achieved highly enriched CD56+ cell populations with minimal contamination (≤3%).
- Obtained a high cellular yield of CD56+ cells (5.3% of unseparated PBMC).
- Isolated NK and LAK cells retained their functional cytotoxic activity after separation and upon IL-2 stimulation.
Conclusions:
- The described immunomagnetic method efficiently isolates pure and functionally active human NK and LAK cells.
- The technique is simple, cost-effective, and suitable for obtaining large numbers of effector cells.
- This method provides a valuable tool for immunological research and potential cell-based therapies.
Abstract:
The present study describes the immunomagnetic isolation of human natural killer (NK) and lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells. Antibodies against CD56 and sheep anti-mouse IgG-coated magnetic monodisperse particles (Dynabeads M-450) were used for the positive isolation of CD56+ cells from unstimulated mononuclear cells (PBMC). A highly enriched population of CD56+ cells (less than or equal to 3% contaminating cells) was obtained with this method. The cellular yield of CD56+ cells was high (5.3% of the unseparated PBMC). The CD56+ cells remained unactivated after separation and preserved their functional characteristics, as measured by cytotoxic activity against the NK sensitive K562 cells. Incubating the CD56+ cells with IL-2 resulted in high LAK activity, as measured by cytotoxic activity against Daudi cells. Large numbers of functionally active CD56+ cells were obtained from IL-2 stimulated lymphocytes using anti-CD56 coated Dynabeads 450. A further enrichment of effector cells with LAK activity was accomplished by depleting the CD56+ cells for T-cells by anti-CD3 coated Dynabeads M450. The immunomagnetic isolation technique described was easy to perform, did not require expensive equipment and yielded NK and LAK cells of satisfactory purity.
